Page 62 of My Sweetest Temptation

“Had you given me this list a week ago like I asked you to—” I tossed the list on my desk in front of me and leaned back in my chair without finishing.

Mya crossed her arms tightly over her chest, jutting a hip out defiantly as she tilted her head to the side. Her gaze bore into me with a fierce intensity, radiating with a heat that made it feel like she could set me on fire.

“What?” I snapped.

“Leave her alone, Nico. She’s not like us,” Mya shot back in a warning tone.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I retorted.

“Winter doesn’t fit in our world.”

“Mya, stop talking,” Matteo said in a threatening tone.

She whipped her head around to look at her brother. “No, I won’t,” she said. She uncrossed her arms and pointed a manicured nail at me, her bracelets jingling with the movement. “It’s bad enough he’s got her working at the club.” Then she turned to face me. “She can’t handle you, Nico. She barely held it together when you chased her out of the goddamn room.”

“I love you like a sister, Mya, but what I do with Winter is my business.”

A knock interrupted us, and the door opened. Luca and Lo strolled in, casually shutting the door behind them.

Mya and I were locked in a staring standoff.

Mya was stubborn as fuck and wouldn’t hesitate to lay it out all for me, especially when it came to people she cared for. But Mya knew if she crossed that line with my feelings toward Winter, it would end badly. But deep down, I knew she also didn’t give a fuck. What I felt for Winter was an emotion I had never felt for anyone else. There was one girl once upon a time, but she didn’t affect me as strongly as Winter did. Winter’s defiant look could turn me into a pillar of salt if I let it. But damn it, her voice—it was like a salve that tried to soothe the darkness inside me, even when I was ready to explode.

And when her skin brushed against mine? The world blurred, and I forgot who I was. Her kisses brought my heart back to life like a cruel joke, reminding me of what I couldn’t have. She held this power over me, and gave me the overwhelming urge to kneel and plead for her to be my queen.

“Nico, she’s too innocent.” Mya speaking again snapped me back to the present.

I know.

“Mya, leave it alone,” Matteo demanded.

“You’re not good for her, Nico. And you know it.”

“Mya! Fuck, woman!” Matteo barked at her. “You couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?”

“Mya, I suggest you take your judgmental ass out of my fucking office. Better yet, my house, and don’t come back until you remember your damn place.”

“My place?” Mya repeated but remained calm.

“Fuck, Mya, let’s go,” Luca said. When he grabbed her elbow, she swatted him away.

“I know my place in this world, Nico. You don’t need to remind me, but don’t think for one second that I’m going to take your shit and not throw it back. You fuck me up, I’ll fuck you up ten times more.”

She took a deep breath and paused.

“My warnings about leaving Winter alone were never to insult you or put you down, but I care about her, and I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“What makes you think I’m going to hurt her?” I asked, but I already knew that I was going to hurt Winter. But not in the way Mya thought.

“Selena.”

And just like that, the door of the cage burst open, and the beast lunged forward. I slammed my fists on the desk, making the items bounce, while the guys surrounded Mya; they all knew she crossed the fucking line. “Don’t ever fucking say her name!” I roared, and she flinched.

Hearing that name was like swallowing razor blades and cutting away my insides. The betrayal. The deceit.

My chest heaved as I tried to slow down my heartbeat. I rose to my feet, straightened my suit jacket, and turned to face the window. The sun hid behind the clouds, giving it a gray look, and the trees swayed as the wind danced through their branches. I shoved my hands in my pockets and cracked my neck from side to side. “Leave,” I commanded her.

The only sound I heard was the shuffling of feet and the gentle click of the door as it closed. I knew Mya had left but that my men stayed behind.

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